180 families in Marawi City to benefit from ARMM housing projects

Marawi City (August 10, 2018) – A total of 180 families who were left homeless by the five-month battle between government soldiers and local terrorists will benefit from housing projects put up by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

On Thursday, August 10, ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman led the turnover ceremony of an initial 36 units of transitional shelters in Barangay Lumbaca Toros in Saguiran, Lanao del Sur. The beneficiaries are from Norhaya, one of the villages within an area in Marawi dubbed ‘Ground Zero’.

The additional 144 units located in Barangay Pantaon of the same town, are still under construction and will be turned over to beneficiaries this year. Those who will benefit from the two housing projects are mostly residents who stayed at the Saguiaran evacuation center.

Since the Marawi siege on May 2017, the ARMM government continues to provide assistance to thousands of residents who were affected by the crisis. He said the regional government strives to rebuild the foundations of local leadership and re-establish safe spaces for the most vulnerable groups in the communities.

“Marawi will rise again, and it will rise with the renewed strength and courage of our people,” Gov. Hataman added. For the city’s rehabilitation program, the ARMM government has initially allocated P150 million.

The regional government already provides a series of medical and psycho-social services, relief distribution, livelihood training and assistance, peace advocacy, dialogue, and consultation, among others, to those displaced by the Marawi siege.

Gov. Hataman assured that the beneficiaries will overcome the crisis. “Titiyakin namin na maibibigay namin ang mga pangangailangan ninyo upang makabangon,” he said. Barangays Lumbaca Toros and Pantaon, where the housing units are being built, are both recipients of the governor’s anti-poverty program dubbed ARMM-HELPS (Health, Education, Livelihood, Peace and Governance, and Synergy).

Anwar Upahm, ARMM-HELPS program manager, said other projects in Barangay Pantaon will be turned over this year while construction of facilities in Barangay Lumbaca Toros will start this August. The projects include barangay hall, multi-purpose building, school armchairs, and farm machinery. Other than those projects, Gov. Hataman said the regional government will also provide them livelihood programs and train them in Islamic finance.

For 48-year-old mother Norma Umpa, it is very difficult to experience a crisis like the Marawi siege, but seeing that there are people who are willing to help gives her courage to hope for a recovery. “Sa totoo lang po, nawalan na kami ng pag-asa. Hindi namin inakala na makakatanggap pa kami ng tulong mula sa gobyerno,” Ompa said.

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